Phil is right to be depressed about missing the Boston meetup, because there will be epic Muppet Christmas Carol karaoke. I am talking full blown death metal Marley and Marley (It can be done. Shane and I got drunk and did it two Aprils ago) and an attempt at a thrash worthy rendition of Scrooge.
Christmas...oh fucking Christmas...The trend of Christmas antipathy really grates me sometimes. Yeah, sure, if you wanna go hide in a corner because you hate fun and puppies and candy canes and everything that is pleasant in life, go ahead, but all these far whatever the fuck anti-Christian goons who hate it for some misguided notion of religion are beyond me. Christmas stopped being about religion well before most of our lifetimes (And really, in most of its history, it was never much about religion, mostly just the eighteen and nineteen hundreds and even that is spotty). Christmas, at this point in history, is merely an excuse to make merry oneself and enjoy the comfort and company of friend, family and happy acquaintance.
I've never been a religious man, but I've always loved Christmas. Even after a series of time where I had something like three absolutely terrible Christmases in a row, I simply cannot break the habit of overall being in a better mood in the season. I actively tried to be bitter for the sake of it back in 2006, but that crashed and burned after the first Christmas Tree I saw for the year.
I love just about every facet of the season. Even in a rather isolationist area like Boston where people keep to themselves, everyone is just that much friendlier this time of year. I even like the outrageously busy shopping season. It would probably be so much easier (And cheaper) to just order everything online, but I just can't break the ever enjoyable habit of going to the mall with a cup of disgusting, yet so much fun to drink, Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate and taking in the season while doing some Christmas shopping.
I love Halloween and Thanksgiving as much as the next person, but I really don't generally mind the head start to Christmas, especially in times like these where some stores really need the extra cash flow to survive. I do find situations like the aforementioned Wal-Mart incident repugnant, but those people miss the whole point of the season. It's not about getting the coolest gift for the best price, it's about taking it easy and admiring everything good about life and doing one's best to spread it. I've never done my shopping before Thanksgiving, but I've also never lacked for a proper gift for anyone I cared about, even waiting and doing my shopping at my own pace.
Probably the best Christmas of my life was my Senior year of High School. My friend's parents had just gotten laid off at the same time. Shit was rough for them, yet they still chose to try and celebrate Christmas. They couldn't afford gifts (They weren't well off to begin with), but they at least had a little Charlie Brown type Christmas Tree going on. A few of us decided the best course of action was for a bunch of us to forgo getting each other anything and just get gifts for them. It was a great feeling, and his mom was very touched (Which was great, as we all loved her to death). Pretty much everyone worth a damn in our circle of friends got involved (Especially touching considering I was one of the few that actually had a job or any form of disposable income). Ask Rachel anytime, I am not a typically generous person, but Christmas always loosens my wallet.
I don't have any specific Christmas traditions, but I have many conventions I like to repeat. Far and away, I cannot get through the season without watching 'Muppet Christmas Carol,' to the point it's on my iPod (And yes, I am watching it right now at work). One year in High School, we were putting on a production of Christmas Carol and about six of us involved were lobbying hard to include Marley and Marley (Sadly, to no avail) I'm also quite partial to 'Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown,' 'Rudolph,' 'Doug's Christmas' (Not that Disney garbage, I'm talking the classic where Porkchop gets put in the pound), 'Nightmare Before Christmas' (A Hot Topic cliche, but fuck it, it's a fun Christmas movie) and bunches of others.
Christmas has always been big in my family, though many things have fallen to the wayside lately. My brother, gramma and I probably are the biggest fans (Chad and I got it from our gramma), but it's pretty big throughout. We used to make multiple stops on Christmas Eve, but now it's pretty much just Christmas morning with my immediates and our gramma (My mom's side stopped doing a party when everyone started having their own children too young for late parties and we had a falling out with my dad's side a few years back). My brother, mother and I used to go out annually to check out the Christmas lights when Chad and I were young, though that started to fall away once our hometown started getting less and less Merry. I keep that on my own by wandering the city to see the lights at the commons and downtown.
Suffice to say: I loves me some Christmas.
Also, for Christmas music, I am quite partial to Trans-Siberian Orchestra and, obviously, the Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack.
